This invention relates to a cleaning brush of the type used for cleaning cooking grills, such as those of barbeque cookers, after use.
Cleaning brushes are readily available for cleaning grills and other parts of barbeque cookers from hardware, grocery and convenience stores. Conventionally, they comprise a handle with a bristled brush end.
The problem with conventional brushes is that, after the brush portion becomes unusable by reason of accumulated grease or wear and tear, the whole brush, including the handle is generally thrown away and replaced. This is tremendous waste because it is usually the case that only the brush portion requires replacement.
It would be more economical and environmentally friendly if the bristled brush portion of the brush could be replaced on the handle. The ability to more readily replace the brush portion would also reduce the build-up of carcinogen residue on the brush and make the cooking process healthier by virtue of a cleaner brush being more often used.
An alternative proposal is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,306 for an invention entitled xe2x80x9cGrill Cleaning Brush and Scraperxe2x80x9d. In that patent, there is taught a grill cleaning brush with a replaceable brush portion. The problem with this prior art brush is that the securement is attained by resilient clip connection between the replaceable brush portion and the handle portion which in the end provides the user with a less than stable connection than may be desired for the more difficult cleaning jobs. A stronger sturdier connection is desirable.
Other alternatives are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,049,935 for an invention entitled xe2x80x9cAnsate Cleaning Implement with Removable Scrubber Elementxe2x80x9d, which teaches a handle having a receiving base portion with a socket wherein there is a boundary wall defining the socket which completely surrounds the socket; and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,167,799 which teaches a handle for a brush having a base portion with a socket wherein the boundary wall defining the socket does not completely surround the socket. These brushes, however, fall short of achieving the securement desired by some users.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning brush for cleaning grills and other parts of cookers wherein there is a removable and replaceable cleaning brush portion, which can be securely mounted to handle portion for robust use by the user.
Other objects and achievements of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the specification and claims included herein.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning brush of the type used for cleaning cooking grills, comprising: a handle member; a brush portion mountable to and dismountable from the handle member, the brush portion having a mountable frame member and brush bristles extending from the mountable frame member wherein the mountable frame member has an upper contact surface, outer side contact surfaces, and a locating securement member; the handle member having a head portion, said head portion having a lower contact surface for contact with the upper contact surface of the mountable frame member when the brush portion is mounted to the handle member; said head portion having an opening to receive the locating securement member for locking movement of the brush portion in the forward, rearward or lateral directions when the brush portion is mounted to the handle member; releaseable locking means for locking the brush portion to the head portion of the handle member to securely fix the head portion and the brush portion in mounted relationship.
In another aspect of the present invention, the head portion of the handle member is provided with inner side walls for contact with the outer side walls of the mountable frame member to secure the position of the mountable frame member with respect to the handle member.